Characteristics of the Vertical and Horizontal Response Spectra of Earthquakes in the Jeju Island Region

In this study, we evaluated the response spectra of 24 earthquake series, which includes 15 from the Kumamoto earthquake series and 9 from the Pohang earthquake series, and explored the effects of earthquake magnitude on the resonance frequencies of structures and buildings. Furthermore, the observations of this study were compared with the design response spectra, Regulatory Guide 1.60 (The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 1973) for Korean nuclear power plants, and with the Korean Building Code (MOLIT, 2016, hereinafter referred to as KBC 2016) for general structures and buildings. The response spectra, after normalization with reference to the peak ground acceleration (PGA), were derived using a total of 423 horizontal and vertical accelerations. It was observed that the shapes of the horizontal and vertical response spectra were strongly dependent on the magnitude of the earthquake and the resonance frequency. Given the strong dependence of the response on the magnitude, it is suggested to consider magnitude > ML ~ 6.0 when establishing design response spectra. Compared to inland areas, a fairly higher amplitude of response at significantly lower frequency ranges could be attributed to the local geological environment of Jeju Island, which was formed by a surface volcano eruption and the distribution of unconsolidated Pleistocene marine sediments in the Jeju area. It is necessary to study the characteristic influence of layers with low shear wave velocity distributed in the Jeju region on seismic responses more rigorously while considering the frequency band and amplitudes at the surface of Jeju. The resonance frequencies of general low-rise and mid-rise buildings by the brief formula and those by design response spectra both suggested by KBC 2016 were overlapped, and these indicated that the seismic hazard could be much higher on general buildings in the Jeju region than in inland areas. Lastly, it is necessary to make the design standard criteria for Reg. Guide 1.60 and KBC 2016 more conservative in the lower frequency range of higher than 0.6 Hz and 2.0–6.0 Hz, respectively, which is significantly lower than those of the inland area, and to establish improved design response spectra with site-specific seismic design standards by referencing large amounts of qualitative data from the region around the Korean Peninsula.